“Eenie, meanie, minie,mo…..one of those trunks just has to go!!

Keith had grown this Juniper from a cutting……quite an achievement in itself! The tight movement at the base of the trunk is more akin to a tree produced in Japan. It’s the trunk sections above this movement which are causing the problem.

Two healthy heads of foliage and two very straight trunk sections.

The two trunks just do not work together and are too large to bend. Which do we keep? Use the eanie/meanie elimination game we played as kids and leave it to chance?….or look more closely…..

The right hand trunk has better taper and some movement. The foliage is closer to the base. The problems with the left hand trunk are now more apparent.

Branches wired and ready for positioning.

Initial styling with plenty of greenery left on to maintain health and vigour. I refuse to sacrifice the tree’s future health and wellbeing for a better “after” picture!!

The redundant trunk has been stripped of bark and bent in half to counter balance the movement in the remaining live trunk.

The deadwood has been extended into a twisting Shari around the trunk to create a more natural and dramatic image.

Pieces of deadwood removed to shorten the jins have been inserted at the break point in the trunk. They help wedge it in position whilst it sets and make the whole thing look more natural.

A close up of the twisting Shari which is also visible from the front of the tree.

Really pleased with the outcome of this little tree. We may reduce the length of the dead trunk in the future but for now we can keep our options open.

Sometimes you have to make that drastic decision to remove half your tree before you can move forward. Maybe its better to study it carefully and then make your decision …….rather than leave it to chance!!!